A Mother's Heartbreak
by Loonyloops
Summary: Aleska Jones loved her husband very much. She was looking forward to raising their daughter with him. Then her world fell apart.


**A/N This is not the story I wanted to write, but that one got lost in my brain. I love this train wreck of a movie and wanted to live in that world a little while so this is what the plot bunnies gave me. They worry me sometimes.**

A Mother's Heartbreak

The night sky was quite beautiful; she would even admit that it was probably even more wonderful to see through that telescope that cost a small fortune. However, she would not admit to how endearing her husband looked as he concentrated on the heavens. Oh, she loved him so much. She could feel baby Inna kicking when she held out the petroleum jelly and demanded their time. She knew that he could not resist her, even as the heavens beckoned him. Their nights were often predictable in this way now, had been for a while, and she would not have traded one second of it. She giggled when he stood and kissed her neck before grabbing the hand holding the jelly and pulling her toward their couch. He playfully wagged is eyebrows at her as she settled and made room for him.

Max was talking nonsense about naming their daughter after a planet when she had already decided Inna was the perfect name. When she came he would see that Mother was always right. Oh, how she loved his nonsense. The day before yesterday he had decided Cassiopeia would be a good name. It had taken her ten minutes to convince him that she would not be so cruel as to name their daughter something she had no hope of spelling before the third grade. He had capitulated and moved on to telling her the reasons behind that constellation's naming. However, that night he was talking about Jupiter. She did admit that it was an interesting name to think about, but not enough to actually go through with it. She really did love it when he talked about space.

Then her world had fallen apart with the sound of splintering wood as their door crashed open. Max had fallen to the floor and she had followed him. Then the gunshot had sounded in her ears like an explosion. She felt him fall and she saw the blood. She begged Max to feel their baby. She screamed for someone to help them. She begged God for a miracle. Three days later the sky Max loved so much was hidden from her behind thick gray clouds as she stood beside a hole in the ground. The men were lowering her heart and soul into that ground. It did not seem right that her Max, who so loved the stars, should be buried beneath the earth. Only Max's child kept her from throwing herself into that hole with him. They were burying her heart in the St. Petersburg soil. It was not right.

Nino was there, pulling her away. Nino was there to receive the guests, so many family and friends from the university and the neighborhood. Nino was there to make sure she ate 'for the baby'. Nino stayed because she was afraid she would kill herself, though she never said as much. She was the one who offered her home when the thought of an empty apartment with Max's blood on the floor was no longer an option. Nino listened to her cry until she was sick. Most importantly, it was Nino who heard the quiet whisper of a grieving woman when she said _I need to leave this place. Russia is no longer home to me. My daughter will not be born here._ Nino arranged everything. She found the man who could help them. She made all the arrangements with Vassily to move them to Chicago.

Through it all she was numb to the core. Not even the tiny life inside her gave her any comfort. She resigned from the university with the complete understanding of the Dean of Mathematics; his sympathy and condolences could not breach her frozen emotions. She could not even cry for the loss of the career she had loved because she had shed all her tears for Max. Soon after that Nino began selling off their furniture and anything else they would not be taking with them. She could not bring herself to mourn the loss as her heart could still not fathom its biggest loss. Before long Nino gathered what was left of their possessions and ushered her out the door and hailed a cab. The enormity of the ship they came to barely registered in her brain. All she cared about was that the giant vessel would carry her far away from this place where she had loved Max. When the ship cast off and she could feel the ship rock on the open water she felt she could breathe a tiny bit easier. It was then she felt a mighty kick to her side and thought, _you are strong little one._

Four days later she was holding her daughter, and she felt her heart start beating again. For the first time in many weeks she felt that she would be able to survive. As she looked at the tiny baby in her arms all she could see was Max, so she gave in to her love's nonsense and named their daughter Jupiter, after a planet, _the planet_. In that moment the last bit of her old life died, as she gave up the name she had chosen, in order to remember her husband in one last small way. All the women cooed over her little one and blessed her and adored her as they made their way across the ocean in that cargo container.

"Jupiter," she whispered into her infant's ear, "You must grow into a strong, smart woman. You must not follow in the paths of others. You must lead the way down your own road. You must be kind and loving, and always treat others with respect. Most of all you must always follow your heart. Your father would want that."

Then she showed her daughter the stars. She pointed out her name's sake and told her all about how Max had patiently showed her where to look in the sky to find all the planets and taught her the constellations he had so loved to watch. She told her baby all the wonderful things that made her fall so deeply in love with him. Through the night she told her daughter everything that there was to know about the man who had been her father. When she had finished she made up her mind that that would be the last time she spoke of her husband. From that moment forward she would do what she must to provide for and raise her daughter. She would no longer dwell on the past because her daughter's future would be full of greatness.

 **Inna – meaning coming from water of strength**

 **If that is wrong please blame the internet.**


End file.
